Release of hostages requires ceasefire, Hamas official says

Mourners gather around the graves of British-Israelis Lianne Sharabi and her two daughters, Noiya,16, and Yahel,13, during their funeral in Kfar Harif, Israel, Wednesday, 

A Hamas official tied the release of hostages held in Gaza to a ceasefire in Israel's punishing air war in the enclave, launched after a deadly rampage by Hamas militants into southern Israel nearly three weeks ago.

Israel says it is preparing a ground invasion, but has been urged by the US and Arab countries to delay an operation that would multiply the number of civilian casualties in the densely populated coastal strip and might ignite a wider conflict.